Satellite antennas at the Sodankylä site

In the far northern reaches of Finnish Lapland, an ambitious new chapter in Earth observation is unfolding. The European Space Agency, together with the Finnish Meteorological Institute and Finnish industrial partners, is advancing plans to develop a state-of-the-art ‘supersite’ in Sodankylä. The plan is to equip this remote site with an array of new advanced environmental measuring technologies, including a striking high-tech airship carrying sensors to perform regional surveys.

This image shows five active satellite antennas, four of which are large with a diameter of 7.3 metres, and one smaller antenna of three metres. In addition, there is a reception station and a supercomputer-level data processing, storage and distribution centre.

Read full story: Putting the ‘super’ into a supersite for Earth observation